Variety – “Walden Media is moving ahead on development of “Rex Libris,” tapping Ben Zazove to adapt the humorous sci-fi graphic novel. Walden acquired feature rights to “Rex” last year, which follows the zombie-slaying adventures of librarian Rex Libris as he protects the books of the Middleton Public Library and guards the world’s literary treasures from a host of supernatural foes.”

Blogtown – “Proposed budget are due to the county chair’s office today and the library’s pitch lays out $6.5 million in cuts that, if approved, would go into effect this August. The library, along with the rest of the county, is facing a serious budget gap and is digging up money in various ways.”

Village Voice – “Yes, books and reading and anything that involves words on actual paper are totally screwed. But that doesn’t mean New York City libraries aren’t valuable! That was kind of the message behind Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s announcement this morning that he is expanding the city’s efforts to help unemployed New Yorkers find jobs through partnerships with public libraries.”

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February 22, 2012Comments Off on Mike Bloomberg: Libraries Aren’t Just About Books, They’re Places to Find Jobs!Bloomberg, Libraries, NYC

The Atlantic – “John Locke thinks people should read more. So in the past few months, the Columbia architecture grad has slipped around Manhattan with a sack of books and custom-made shelves, converting old pay phones into pop-up libraries.”

Press Release – “ebrary®, a ProQuest business and leading provider of ebooks and research technology, today announced that the social media data of its 2011 Global Student E-book Survey is now publicly available…Among other key findings, the addendum revealed the following…35% students indicated they would “likely” to “very likely” pose a question to a librarian using social media, compared to 45% who would “likely” to “very likely” use social media to pose a question to faculty.”

AP – ” A military official says Muslim holy books that were burned in a pile of garbage at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan had been removed from a library at a nearby detention center because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions. A military official with knowledge of the incident told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it appeared the Qurans and other Islamic readings were being used to fuel extremism, and that detainees apparently were leaving notes for one another inside them.”

Courthouse News – “A federal judge ordered a central Missouri school district to stop using Internet filtering software that blocks access to gay, lesbian and transgender issue-related websites. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey issued a preliminary injunction against the Camdenton R-III School District. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the district in August 2011 on behalf of several gay rights organizations, including the Matthew Shepard Foundation; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Dignity Inc.”

NY Daily News – “Brooklyn’s newest – and smallest – library is currently under construction by two borough artists. Partners Julia Marchesi and Leon Reid IV are working on a book branch that’s just 6-feet high and modeled after a Brooklyn brownstone. Called the “The Hundred Story House,” Marchesi and Reid’s work is a celebration of the borough’s literary-savvy culture. The pair want to site the structure in Cobble Hill Park this spring where its 100 books will be available on a take-a-book, leave-a-book honor system.”

Telegraph – “Reed has come under pressure from some investors to sell off its LexisNexis Legal & Professional business amid claims the division is suffering from under-investment and increasing competition. However, Erik Engstrom, Reed’s chief executive, said all of the company’s major units were there to stay and that the business would only consider smaller disposals within each unit: “We continually try to proactively adjust our business mix”.

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February 16, 2012Comments Off on No sell-off for Reed ElsevierBloomberg, Lexis

NYT – “The New York Public Library on Wednesday rekindled its ambitious $1 billion plan to overhaul its branches and renovate its Fifth Avenue flagship. The plan, which will now involve selling two of the system’s best-known libraries — the Mid-Manhattan branch and the Science, Industry and Business Library — was announced in 2008, when it was expected to be substantially completed by 2014. But the plan languished because of the economic downturn and changes in the library’s leadership.”

Comments Off on Ambitions Rekindled at Public Library

February 16, 2012Comments Off on Ambitions Rekindled at Public LibraryNYPL